Red Eyes in the Dark
by Mysana
Summary: "There is something very wrong with Naruto Uzumaki."
1. Perfectly Fine

By the time Naruto was three he had permanent fangs and deep whisker marks that made him unmistakeable as the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki.

"Perfectly normal," a doctor said, "considering the effect chakra has while in the womb and in early childhood." Their eyes are eerily blank. "Perfectly normal."

The Hokage and Naruto met once a month or so, for lunch and a quick chat. Seeing the boy so often made the Hokage rather blind to the changes that should have been obvious. When Naruto was five however, the Hokage had to note that the boy had rather… well... red eyes. One of the matrons at the orphanage declared it was time for a 'check up' and everyone was taken to the doctor the very next day.

"Seems just fine," the doctor said with an unconcerned air, "it's pretty common for chakra to have an impact on colouring. You might want him to try genjutsu if he's going to be a ninja." Naruto was silent. "Chakra changes in the eye seem to indicate an increased ability in using them." The matron gestured Naruto out of the room and didn't notice the sweat gathering at the back of the doctors neck.

When Naruto was six he got into a fight with another orphan and broke his arm. The most severe damaged happened when Naruto's chakra, bubbling off of his skin, gave the other boy third degree burns in the shape of feet and fist. Naruto started at the Ninja Academy less than a week later.

"There's a reason his mother was called the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero." The doctor said after consultation, "Boys will be boys, the problem is just that he has so much more chakra than his opponent." The Hokage chose not to see the doctor's racing heart. (It was was Naruto, the boy was basically his grandson. There was a reason shinobi were supposed to be devoid of emotions.) "He wouldn't be able to do the same to a trained shinobi." The doctor assured. The Hokage allowed himself to let it go. Be relieved. Be content in the knowledge that in the worst case scenario the boy didn't stand a chance against ANBU.

Naruto graduated the academy Dead Last. He had lost every spar, failed every test, and took at least a week longer than anyone else to learn the academy ninjutsu. He faded silently into the back of every class. No one noticed when the widow opened and closed next to a sleeping Naruto twice a lesson.

"I'm not surprised." The civilian parents said, entirely too loudly, "everyone knows that monsters are stupid." They stood huddled together like a pack of overly cocky prey. Their children sneered at the boy.

The shinobi parents said nothing.

Kakashi Hatake was alarmed. Naruto did not smell like Minato. He didn't smell like Kushina. He smelled like blood and flesh and sweat. He smelled like an animal.

"I'm not surprised," The Hokage says, ignoring the wave of unease that sat deep in his bones, "Naruto trains hard and seems to prefer meat to all other foods. He can eat an entire barbecue himself whenever we have lunch."

They pass the bell test by the skin of their teeth. Naruto insists that Sasuke use fire ball jutsu which Sasuke had been planning on doing anyway.

Sasuke Uchiha was unhappy at being placed with Dead Last. He was even more unhappy when he had to go to the hospital after their first spar when Dead Last broke his leg and stabbed him in shoulder. (The kunai nearly went through his neck. It was so, so close.)

Sakura Haruno had almost cried with happiness when she heard she would be on the same team with Sasuke. She was starting to think it wasn't worth it.

"He fights like an animal." Kakashi said, face ANBU blank. "He nearly killed his teammate in a spar."

"If I was trying to kill my teammate he would be dead." Naruto said, crossing his arms with a stubborn look on his face. His eyes are dead and the pupils are nearly diamond, well on their way to animalistic slits.

Naruto completed each D rank with an air of efficiency that is… strange. Unexpected.

Their first C rank is still an escort mission to the Land of Waves. They still meet the Demon Brothers. Naruto laughed bitterly at the title. The mission is almost a success. Technically they did succeed. Sasuke Uchiha returns to the village in a matchbox - dead from a senbon to the heart. (Haku is dead, it might have been him. You can't prove it wasn't.)

Kakashi doesn't have the words to explain why Naruto is making the hair on the back of his neck rise. On the way home he asks Naruto if he's 'doing okay'.

"That was my first kill ya' know." Naruto says casually, presumably referring to the way he slaughtered Haku after seeing Sasuke fall. Kakashi nodded, it made sense that the boy would be a little bit off, he had leaned over Sasuke's body while Kakashi had finished Zabuza, had felt as his body cooled. Perhaps he needed a therapist.

"How does that make you feel?" Kakashi asks, repeating the words the therapist in Icha Icha uses. Then he stiffens because Naruto is leaking killing intent.

"It was… new." Naruto hisses out of clenched teeth, Sakura is pale and shaking from ten feet away. The look on his face looks angry, frustrated, tense maybe? Kakashi can't tell which is just as strange as the rest of it.

Three weeks later Naruto is found by ANBU. His hand is in a civilians chest, the man has claw marks on his arms and chest. The ANBU members who first saw the scene of the crime are oddly blank forever afterwards, only able to swear up and down that there was nothing wrong with Naruto Uzumaki.


	2. Sakura

"There is something wrong with Naruto Uzumaki." The Hokage says after Kakashi finishes his mission report. Kakashi says nothing, just nods. He can barely manage that, he might be sentencing his _sensei's son_ to _death_. He can't say he didn't know it would happen either. Kakashi knows what happens to jinchūriki who go wrong.

"Do you know what seal Minato used on Naruto?" The Hokage asks after a long pause.

"No."

"Neither would any other fūinjutsu expert in the Elemental Nations. Minato created it you see." Hiruzen speaks slowly, softly, as if telling a bedtime story, "Minato made it impenetrable. The Kyuubi can't leave except by Naruto's leave. If Naruto dies without releasing it then the Kyuubi dies with him, for however long until it regenerates out our control."

"And we can't lose the Kyuubi." Kakashi's voice echoes his thoughts in horror. Losing the Kyuubi would mean the start of another war. Despite the beliefs of Konoha's children, the Kyuubi was well and alive, and the spies who no doubt live in their midst know it too. Attacking Konoha and forcing Naruto to fight would be mutually assured destruction, since the other side had their own tailed beasts. Without the Kyuubi… Konoha would not survive.

"Indeed. The binding that Minato made for our own protection has a stranglehold us now. It protects Naruto, much like it was intended. But not. The original intention of the seal was to slowly leak the Kyuubi's chakra to Naruto. Jiraiya and I suspect that this is the cause for… what has happened. Which means it will only get worse with time."

"What do we do?"

"Nothing Kakashi. We do nothing, and when it blows up in our face we pretend we knew nothing about it." The Hokage spoke slowly, the weariness on his face making him look older than Kakashi had ever seen him before. "We hope that our attempts at aiming Naruto's destructive habits away from Konoha are successful."

"He might've been the one to kill Sasuke," Kakashi says. He had barely thought of the possibility until he'd been called into the Hokage's office. Yet- _If I was trying to kill my teammate he would be dead._ Between that and the dead civilian… Who can say that Naruto _wouldn't_ kill his teammate?

In an almost ironic turn of events, Sakura understands the situations the fastest. She hadn't really _met_ Naruto until they were a team. They might've been in the same class together - but that had been different. They had each been one among many, and Sakura has been called many things but a social butterfly was not one of them.

They met at the start of Team 7 Under Kakashi Hatake and Sakura saw something angry and feral and _lost_ in his eyes. She had left the pressure on her skin of chakra. Something about Naruto's chakra felt I _terrifying_ , just being in its presence made it hard to think, to process, to understand that something was wrong. In fact, it was so terrifying that Sakura wanted to pretend it didn't exist. Pretend everything was fine. Everything was _normal_.

When Naruto growled Sasuke glared and Sakura took a step back.

Sasuke isn't present to glare back anymore.

Sakura's parents are both chūnin, and content in their role as ninja. Much like clan children, Sakura grew up with ninja stories. Most of which would make civilians ill to hear. ("It's dangerous to pretend that everything's fine when it's clearly not," Inner reminded her. ) Despite the fact that Sakura has known the realities of ninja life since she was five, everyone seems to want to tell her how _unsuited_ she is for ninja life.

People had always told Sakura that she wasn't fit to be a shinobi. ("Too small, too weak, not intimidating enough," Inner snarled in a mocking voice.) And maybe it was true. She had always fawned over Sasuke like everyone else. She had never trained quite at hard as she should have. She listened to bad advice that told her it was more important to be pretty than strong.

At the same time, everyone had said that _Sasuke_ would be a brilliant ninja. They had said he was a genius. (And maybe that was part of it, she hoped, wished, dreamed that people would say the same about _her_. Maybe that was part of why she was so focused on Sasuke.) Sasuke was dead though. And Sakura wasn't.

When one day neither Naruto nor Kakashi arrive, despite her waiting _all day_ , she goes to the Hokage's office. Chances are they won't be able to help her, but they'll be able to tell her who can. It's there that she learns that Naruto _killed a civilian_. Which is weird.

Naruto is… creepy. Terrifying even. But Sakura's never thought him to be reckless. And killing a civilian is definitely reckless. She's already put off balance when Kakashi-sensei arrives, acting even stranger than usual.

"Sakura-chan, were you watching Naruto and Sasuke during the fight on the bridge?"

"Sensei?"

"The ANBU are questioning Naruto about the events on our mission and would like to hear what you have to say. Don't worry, this isn't an interrogation and I'll be with you the whole time." Kakashi says grimly despite the eye smile that he is clearly forcing. Sakura can't help but wonder if he's always this obvious and she just hasn't been paying attention.

"…Okay, sensei." Sakura relents, doing her best to keep curiosity and reluctance to herself.

The room is dark at the edges and Sakura is pretty sure there are _people_ literally hiding in the shadows. Which is pretty cliche in her opinion. Kakashi is there just like he promised, sitting at her side. It's not much like she expected, in all. Sure, the walls are white, and there's a 'mirror' on the wall that she is no doubt being watched through. Sure there are shadows in the corners. But the metal table she always imagined as screwed onto the floor is actually wood. The metal chairs covered in chains are actually similar to the chairs Sakura has in her house to lay around in. There are pictures on the walls and, in all, it feels pretty cosy.

"Hello Sakura-chan," Misa Yamanaka says with a smile that Sakura returns. They don't know each other all that well but Misa is Ino's Aunt once removed (which is pretty close by clan standards) so they've met before. "Can you tell me about the fight with Haku, were you watching it?"

"I was." Sakura confirms, "Kakashi-sensei was fighting Zabuza. Sasuke was fighting Haku, and I was guarding our client." Sakura throws herself into her nightmares and does her best to narrate the scene she witnessed.

The bridge was covered in an ominous fog and there were sounds coming, muffled, from all sides. The occasional spark in the distance from whatever Kakashi-sensei or Zabuza were doing. The air is heavy with the unfamiliar smell of salt and sea, even after a week it makes Sakura's nose twitch, in the back of her throat she can smell the cloying scent of blood. The mist dampens everything and she feels heavy with the humidity.

Haku, though Sakura didn't know his name at the time, was flying around the bridge faster than her eyes could follow. His feet didn't seem to touch the ground and Sakura couldn't hear his movements behind the sounds of their sensei's clashing. Sasuke-kun was… trying. Sasuke's fire and kunai were losing against Haku's senbon and ice. When Sakura had seen him fight at the academy he would watch their first attack, maybe two, then go on an offence in a strange mirror of his opponent. Iruka-sensei had never commented on it other than to warn him that if he was facing a superior enemy it would be ineffective, but Sakura could see why he had said that.

Haku was faster than Sasuke. More precise too. Sasuke was losing, slowly but steadily. Sakura could see the way him movements were limited b the senbon that would no doubt tear his muscles if he moved the wrong way. He was working around it though, doing his best. ("Sasuke really was amazing! Haku had to be at least chūnin level and Sasuke was holding him off!" Inner had shouted, and Sakura had agreed at the time.)

Then Naruto had appeared.

Naruto's chakra was always heavy. Like the pressure when you swam too low in a swimming pool. This time it was worse. He felt different. His hair looked less like dandelion fluff and more.. sharp. The air around him shimmered as if she was looking into a mirage. His chakra was awesome. It was so heavy over her skin Sakura had thought she was in a genjutsu and had tried to break out of it twice.

(Which, actually, had helped a bit.) In the face of such power, Sasuke had turned towards Naruto. Haku didn't. He had stiffened and immediately sent a _wave_ of senbon at Sasuke.

Everything was moving in slow motion.

Naruto was snarling in what was nearly a grin. Sasuke's black eyes were wide in surprise, still unaware of the attack coming his way. Haku's face was covered by a mask. Naruto had seen the senbon as he landed on the bridge. Sasuke had opened his mouth to shout at Naruto. A wave of chakra hit Sakura.

Sakura blinked, back in the present. Sweat is gathering on her neck. Her eyes are dry and staring into the distance.

"I- it-" She stutters. " _That chakra_." She lets out a slow shaky breath. "Naruto didn't kill Sasuke. It was definitely Haku. But. If Naruto hadn't arrived, Sasuke might have noticed in time."

When she leaves she doesn't miss the pity in Kakashi-sensei's eyes. She knows that he doesn't believe her. He is convinced of Naruto's guilt.


	3. Transition

They're on their third mission outside of the village, just the three of them. Apparently, there hadn't been any genin in need of a team for the time being. For some reason, Sakura doesn't quite believe them. Maybe it's the way that whenever they're in Konoha there _just happens_ to be a jonin in view. Maybe it's the way that Naruto growls at anyone who gets too close, especially if it's someone he doesn't know. For the most part, Sakura can understand why everyone's so scared of him - she's scared of him.

But it's times like now, where they're away from people, running through the forest. Kakashi-sensei's at the front and Naruto is just ahead of her. Each step they take away from the village he relaxes a little more. Everything about him seems a little less intimidating. The waves of killer intent that he has started to spill lessens and when they accidentally startle a deer she would swear he smiles. Not a smirk or a snarl, but…. but a grin. Maybe even giggle.

It makes her wonder.

(That night Naruto says something that might've even been a joke.)

Time moves by and Sakura settles. Her team is terrifying and she's not sure why _she_ ' _s_ part of it. Kakash-sensei is cold (his eye smiles all too rare nowadays) and Naruto seems restless and angry. She's just… Sakura. The barely-a-kunoichi, pink haired, low chakra, low stamina girl who everyone knows will settle down early to pop out half a dozen kids. (She knows what the neighbours say, she's not _stupid_.) Expect. That's not quite true anymore, now is it? She's not the weak child she had been when she graduated.

The other day she realised she had _shoulder muscles_. Nothing bulky or obvious, but it was there. (Shinobi never really 'bulked up' like civilians did.) And the Thursday before that she outran Ino-pig to the grand opening of Silent Scents, the new perfume store for ninja. (It had been really disappointing, the owner was obviously a civilian.) Sakura knows she's nothing compared to Naruto or Kakashi-sensei, she's probably still not as good as the other genin. She's better than she's ever been before though. (The chunin at the missions desk gave her a strange look yesterday, it looked almost like respect - mixed in with the usual pity of course.)

They never do any actual training. Usually, the day is spent doing 2 or 3 D-rank missions. (None of them are dangerous, or even hard, but it's still hours of labour a day, and Sakura knows it each time she thinks of skipping a meal. The one time she tried, her stomach growled so hard that her mother got a gut ache laughing. _So embarrassing_.) Every other week they go on a C rank mission. Besides that they never do anything. They finish their missions and Kakashi-sensei says, "Report to the mission desk at 8 am tomorrow morning." Then he disappears. He's never late anymore. (He hasn't been since that day in T&I.)

Kakashi-sensei doesn't come one morning. In his place is a blank-faced man called Yamato.

Apparently, Kakashi-sensei got re-assigned. When Sakura tells Ino-pig she learns that it really means Kakashi-sen… Kakashi-san asked to get moved. Away from Naruto most likely. (Away from Sakura.) (She feels a bit miffed about it really. You didn't see _her_ leaving the team. _And_ he was the one to say that those who abandoned teammates were worse than trash.)

Yamato seems surprised when he learns that they don't do anything other than missions. It's hard to tell though with the way that he never _actually makes any facial expressions_. Mostly it's the way he just sort of… stares at them, before taking them to the mission office.

They get ambushed by _another_ group of bandits.

They're in the forest this time though, and as Leaf Ninja all three of them are in their element. The sunlight is speckled on the ground and Sakura can smell the filth and blood caked over their enemy's bodies. Naruto is snarling and surrounded by the bubbling orange chakra that spells third-degree burns for those who get too close. Sakura stands behind him to his left where he's the least defended so she can punch the lights out of anyone who goes for his weak spot while not being in the middle of the fight. (Naruto never _purposefully_ attacks her, but he doesn't always look very closely at who's nearby.)

As far as Sakura's been able to tell, Naruto doesn't really care about working with her, but they're still a decent team. They had to be, since Kakashi-san would go off too fast to watch and take out whoever was in charge. Sakura _nearly died_ before she found that standing behind Naruto created a decent barrier. That's not to say that she doesn't do her part, it's just, from a slightly more protected position. (Look, she can't take the same kind of damage Naruto can. He broke his arm in _three places_ and the day after seeing the medic-nin was blocking kicks with his arm. That's not how medical chakra _works_.)

It's a messy fight and her hands are covered in blood. She hates punching people until they break but she's not the best at kunai and shuriken and doesn't even own any other weapons. (All 10 kunai she carries are already stuck into various bodies, or laying around on the ground, handle too slick with blood to hold.) All offensive ninjutsu and genjutsu are taught by jonin-sensei, and well. Obviously, Kakashi never had any interest in teaching them. Naruto is leaking bloodlust like he does after every battle, chest heaving despite the fact he's never out of breath. When Sakura looks around to check for survivors she sees Yamato watching them. His clothes are clean and there aren't any bodies around him. Judging by the way he watches them both ever so carefully, he's been watching them.

"Was Kakashi-taichou planning on entering you two into the chunin exam?"

(It's not until she gets home that she realises that a whole chunk of hair got cut off in the battle. Oh well, short hair was more practical to take care of anyway - it's not like Sasuke's around to be impressed by how pretty it is.)


	4. Chunin Exams: Part 1

"This is Kabuto. He'll be your third teammate for the chunin exams." Yamato said, eyes carefully trained on Naruto. No one moves, and Kabuto seems to take this to mean its safe. (He's wrong.)

"Hello," Kabuto says, the same way Sakura did when he was younger. Shy, scared of people's reactions. "I'm a medic-nin and usually take the intelligence position." His grey hair makes her think of Kakashi. His glasses obscure his eyes and the way they flash when he pushes them up feels like a warning. (Maybe she's just being paranoid.)

Naruto snarls. It's the loud one that Sakura can now differentiate from his other noises. It's a warning. It means 'go away, I don't like you'. Sakura hums quietly, she knows that Naruto can hear her agreement. Maybe Yamato can too, because without a twitch or flinch he seems to sigh.

"You need to have three people to take the chunin exams. Kabuto is the only genin without teammates." Sakura sends a glance at Naruto who seems to ignore her. They're in agreement anyway, they don't want Kabuto. He'll only slow them down. He'll leave them. (Betray them.) "Sakura." Yamato sighs in his tired, resigned voice, "without Kabuto you cannot take the chunin exams. Without becoming chunin you'll be stuck on C and D-rank missions."

"Then I don't wanna do the exams. He's not part of our team. C-rank missions aren't that bad anyway." Sakura insists, crossing her arms. She's not good enough to be a chunin anyway. All she can do is use academy level taijutsu and chakra enhance her attacks just a little bit. Yamato just wants them to be chunin so he doesn't have to deal with them. And damn, Naruto can be scary, but he's never hurt her that badly. (Again, not great at looking at where he's attacking.)

"And you Naruto? If you don't want to do the exams, that's fine, but don't avoid them just so you don't have to work with a third teammate."

"I don't hold people back anymore!" Kabuto input, looking a bit sheepish and a touch desperate, "I always make it the third stage, but I'm no good at combat," he sighs in that way Ino did when she said 'I can never get the angle quite right' when she had tried to use her mother's senbon. (Sakura had smiled over the edge of her homework despite the fact that she was no better.) It made Sakura feel nostalgic. "So I always fail in the one-on-one fights at the end." She still doesn't want him there.

"I would rather be a genin for the rest of my life than be on a team with _him_ ," Naruto said finally. His voice is rough from disuse and Sakura startles a bit at the realisation that she and Naruto rarely talk. To each other, or at all, given much of their time is spent together. (Ino-pig is always busy with her team - and they don't have a rivalry over Sasuke anymore. Chunin also get sent away on missions, even when those chunin are parents. The house, and Sakura, are quiet these days.)

She wonders, briefly, at the emphasis Naruto used. Does he have someone else he wants to be on a team with? Does he not want to be on a team with Kabuto specifically? Is Kabuto a _girl_? (Naruto has an amazing sense of smell, which has been a great help from time to time. Tora is a much easier mission now that Naruto has gotten better - though not great - at scent tracking.)

"Okay," Yamato acquiesces, "thank you for your time Kabuto, I'm sorry nothing could come of it."

"It's fine," Kabuto says, scratching the back of his head, "I'm used to it." He wanders away slowly and Sakura _almost_ wants to call him back - to change her mind. But Kabuto isn't part of their team, and Naruto doesn't like him.

"I guess, in the meantime, we'll work on training until the chunin exams are over and cover a couple of extra missions. I'll keep looking for a third teammate so you can participate when you're ready. Or alternatively, we can wait until the exams are in a village that allows single or double teams."

Somewhere along the way, Sakura and Naruto started to walk together. Not always, not even often, but sometimes. It was different from just walking in proximity like they would in the beginning. It was… closer. Sakura liked to think it was friendlier too. They didn't much talk.

This time they're walking through the streets after going to Naruto's favourite food place, a ramen shop called Ichiraku. It had been something of a surprise and Sakura almost feels as those Naruto is trying to console her after not entering the chunin exams… Or maybe he's consoling himself. She's not sure. Either way, it was more personal than anything they'd done together previously, and the man at the shop clearly knew Naruto. (Greeting him with a friendly smile and a wave, not even trying to make conversation.) Even Naruto, with his growling and more… feral traits has more people who smile when he arrives than Sakura. (Her parents don't count since they are so rarely around, and so rarely smiling.)

She shakes her head at the strange feeling of envy that runs through her. She's not a fan of it and neither is Naruto by the frown on his face.

"Sorry, I'm being silly," she says, sending Naruto an apologetic look. She's not sure, but she wonders if he can smell her feelings. She's heard of animals smelling fear, and Naruto always scrunches up his nose uncomfortable when they're around really upset people. It might just be that he dislikes them, or feels the same disdain for them that she can feel growing within herself.

"Then stop," Naruto says after a long pause. He sounds distressed, maybe tired. Sakura's not sure, Naruto is just about impossible to read even after getting past the constant leak of killing intent. (It's gotten smaller though, maybe, she thinks. Maybe she's just used to it.)

The strange envy within her doesn't disappear, but it feels less potent. Naruto shared something important to himself (he won't betray her). He willingly spends time with her (he doesn't think she's a waste). They both have people who smile for each of them (Ino counts). She's so glad he's not alone - that she's not alone. That neither of them have to be alone ever again. The envy's not gone, but there is little that can compare to the joy of having someone who is _with her_. (Won't leave like her parents, like Ino, like Sasuke, like Kakashi. Like everyone else.)

A voice comes from just ahead, around the corner.

"Little brats should watch where they're going - in case they get _hurt_."


	5. Chunin Exams: Part 2

Naruto and Sakura turn in unison and walk away from her house and towards the voice. In front of them is are two Suna nin. Sakura's not sure _why_ there are there Suna nin in Konoha, but that's a secondary problem.

One of the ninja is wearing face paint and hooded jumpsuit (with _ears_ of all things) and he's holding a kid by his scarf. There's something strapped to his back wrapped in bandages and the brown hair puffing out of the top is… worrisome. The kid himself looks _familiar_ , but in that distant way that most of Konoha's residents are. Despite the fear, evident on the kid's face, he's looking at this two companions a few steps back. (Looking out for them?) The other one, a girl with spiky blonde hair and a huge weapon of some sort strapped to her back.

(They both look more competent than Sakura, but Naruto's here so as long as she can delay one of them long enough everything'll be fine.)

"What, exactly, do you think you're doing?" Naruto asks, voice deceptively calm. Sakura can feel his killing intent increasing. It's barely a distraction to her now though, especially since it's not aimed at her. The two kids standing by start shaking and this eyes go distant. (" _Can't killing intent be harmful, especially to kids?"_ Inner asks, sounding unconcerned.)

"Naruto, you're scaring the kids," She says putting a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder. She couldn't stop him if he doesn't want to listen to her, but that's the thing. Naruto _listens to her_. The killing intent decreases and suddenly its easier to breath - she hadn't even noticed how tight her chest had felt.

"I'm just warning a snot-nosed _civilian_ that they should be more careful." The Suna boy says in that airy tone that only someone truly privileged can make. Like he expects them to let it go, like he thinks (or pretends he thinks) himself untouchable. It's the wrong strategy to deal with Naruto. (It's the same one Sasuke used.) Sakura sighs, and doesn't bother to be quiet about it. He turns to her, just a little bit - not letting Naruto out of sight.

"Well, you've made your warning. You should probably let him go now." Sakura says with a purposefully thoughtless wave towards the boy. The ninja doesn't release the boy, but the female Suna nin behind them steps up.

"Kankuro, maybe-"

"Leave him." A cold voice intones from above, Sakura looks up to see a red-headed boy with an inking of the kanji for love on his forehead in red. (" _That's ominous,"_ Inner remarks.)

"But Gaara-"

"Leave him or _I'll kill you_." The red-headed boy - Gaara - who was already leaking killing intent, releases it in a torrent.

 _"_ _It's funny_ ," Inner says in Sakura's head, " _we'll be killing intent connoisseurs in no time._ _First was Zabuza-"_ Killing intent like **drowning,** like cold and numb and **_helpless_**. " _-and Naruto-_ " A mirage, buffeting winds at the edge of a cliff, **_red eyes in the dark._** "-and now Gaara-" **Endless pain** ** _,_** a sandstorm, hit with bruising force, **_crushed by a billion tiny particles of sand_**. " _-soon we'll be able to tell the taste of someone's killing intent before they even use it._ " Outer Sakura said nothing, still frozen at the force.

"Oh!" Naruto says surprised, seemingly unaffected by the killing intent, "is that you Shukaku?" Gaara's head snaps towards Naruto so fast Sakura wouldn't be surprised if he had whiplash.

"Mother knows you?"

"Oop. Would you look at that. Looks to me like you're stuck. Just. Like. Always." Sakura watches in horror at the impish grin, purposefully digging at Shukaku for something. "I can't say I'm surprised. All the rest of us are at least have _some control_ , comes with being sane. I guess I can't fault you for being so _weak_." (Who is Shukaku? Why does Naruto know him/them/it?)

" _I'll kill you!"_ Someone screams. It's too hoarse, too loud to have been Gaara. (Right? A child couldn't have made that scream? Right?) Before the boy ( _monster_ ) can do more than lean forward- there's someone new. A jonin probably, based on speed. He appears to be a Suna nin as well, with a piece of cloth covering half his face.

"Gaara. Stop." The jonin says, "your father isn't here to stop you right now. If you release it now that Konoha will have to restrain you."

" _I have to kill him. Feed his blood to Mother._ "

"You couldn't kill me even if you _did_ release Shukaku. I've always been strong than him." Naruto boasts, a dark edge to his voice. (They're both leaking killing intent and it's suffocating. _I can't move- I can't- I-)_

Gaara is gone in a rush of air, along with the jonin. All that's left is Sakura. Sakura, three frightened children, two Suna nin, and Naruto.

"Why are you even in _Konoha_?" Sakura finally asks, voice tinged with exasperated desperation. ' _Will I have to see you again?'_ she means.

"Chunin exams." The girl says shortly, "come on Kankuro, it's time to go."

Sakura watches as they walk away. She can see the way they're nearly imperceptibly shaking. She can relate. (Although she's still standing the three children aren't, having been dropped or collapsed to the ground under the immense pressure.)

"Naruto, I think we need to take the kids to the hospital. That one doesn't look so good," She says pointing at the little boy with the snotty nose and glasses. They're all pale, but the boy has empty eyes in a way that concern her. "Naruto?" She turns towards her silent teammate and freezes, just a bit. She's reminded of her fear the first time they spared ( _Sasuke nearly died - did die._ )

"Sakura," he says (saying her name ever so softly), turning towards her with a manic grin, "we're taking part in the chunin exams."


	6. Chunin Exams: Part 3

The idea of taking part in the chunin exams seems like a pretty simple plan until they realised they weren't sure _when_ the chunin exams were, or where to find Yamato. First they dropped off the kids at the hospital, then they looked around. Wandering around the village didn't yield any new information though, so Naruto and Sakura went their separate ways without another word between them. (Sakura almost says goodbye but in the quiet of the evening it would feel like blasphemy.)

In the morning they wait on the red bridge as they do every morning - as they have waited every morning since three children passed the bell test - as they wait now, two ninja. Yamato arrives at 8 am just like he said he would and there is the smallest hint of nostalgia for the mornings that were spent waiting for an absent sensei with a team she wasn't sure she could trust.

"We've decided to take the chunin exams," Sakura says because she knows Naruto would prefer not to.

"Aa. Should I go find Kabuto again then?"

"No." Naruto says it in a such a low growl that Sakura is a touch surprised. She hadn't _liked_ Kabuto, but she hasn't hated him either.

"Well the exam is in five days, so I'm not sure anyone else will be available. All of the other rookie teams that were in your graduating class are taking part, maybe I can see if any of them would prefer to not take part." Sakura glances at Naruto, who seems to be watching something in the stream below. Presumably, he doesn't care?

"That works for me. Sensei." Sakura says, there is a reluctance to her words. A question, almost. (" _You gonna leave us,_ sensei?" Inner asks with a sneer.)

"I'll look into that later, now it's time to train. Now I know Kakashi- uh- didn't do any training with you so what we're going to do is this," Yamato says, guiding them over to the open field where Team Kakashi first formed (they didn't say goodbye).

"You two are naturally acting as taijutsu types. It's been effective so far but you are both actually ranked as ninjutsu," Yamato nodded towards Naruto, "or genjustu," a nod towards Sakura, "respectively. You are both ranked secondary in taijutsu which is why you're on a frontline combat team."

"Frontline combat team?" Naruto echoed, sounding confused. Sakura can understand why, they haven't done any missions set as combat missions. Sure, their missions go wrong and they have to fight, but they never set out to start a fight.

"Aah. Mission rankings are partially set by the likelihood of combat. D-rank means no fighting. C-rank means a limited risk of fighting, and if you do then it's against civilians only. B-rank means there's a decent chance of combat against another ninja. A-rank means you are fighting ninja. S-rank means you're fighting highly ranked ninja, there is a high risk of death, or the mission is of vital importance to the village. A bit more goes into it than that, but it's a decently accurate approximation. Genin are almost never assigned anything above C-rank during peacetime."

"Is that why you want Naruto and I to participate in the exams?"

"In part, neither of you are ready to lead a team yet, which will be a mark against you. That said, you work well together and I think you could both benefit from seeing where other shinobi your age are at. Also, most of your growth will be in missions so achieving a chunin rank would allow you to improve more quickly." Yamato looked at Sakura and Naruto each, letting his eyes slowly look them up and down.

"Both of you are wearing impractically bright clothing which will draw unnecessary attention. Before the exam go through your pouches and pockets and make sure you are carrying everything you take with you on a mission."

"Hai," Sakura nodded decisively and Naruto nodded silently.

"A week isn't long enough to learn ninjutsu or genjutsu, so we'll focus on improving your taijutsu forms." Yamato had them each run through kata, correcting their forms and had them practice a spar against each other using them. Then he had them sit down and said,

"So if you know the kata, _why_ don't you use them?"

"Well," Naruto said, making Sakura jump slightly, "they don't work very well for fighting multiple people at once. Like if I go like this," he stood and made a movement to disarm an imaginary opponent, "then I leave my left side open to attack." He _flopped_ onto the ground and sighed, "that's just one example. I _can_ use the kata, but so far we've been fighting against multiple people at once."

"Except for that one time," Sakura added.

"Except for that one time," Naruto acknowledged, "most of the time they aren't very helpful though." Yamato sighed, _actually verbally sighed._

"Good answer. The purpose of the Academy kata is largely to teach students the basics of taijutsu so their jonin-sensei can teach them more efficiently. I can be useful when sparring to help keep up a good level of fitness. The biggest problem is that it's entirely unspecialised. It focuses equally at offence and defence, it focuses on hand to hand combat. The two of you will want a new form focused on offence since Naruto can take a lot of damage and Sakura uses Naruto as a shield. That said, it might be useful for one of you to learn at least _some_ medical jutsu."

Both Yamato and Naruto turned to Sakura.

"I wouldn't mind it…." Sakura hesitated, "but any injuries Naruto has will barely need treatment. _I_ am the one most likely to need medical help. And- well. If _I'm_ the one injured…"

"Sakura," there was something in his voice that sounded almost heartbreakingly disappointed, "Sakura, my chakra is _corrosive_."

"If I remember correctly," Sakura turned to Yamato, expecting him to interrupt her, instead he watched impassively. She paused, "one of the reasons being a medic is so hard is because you have to filter your charka. Everyone's chakra is damaging to someone else - unless they have the same charka like identical twins. So you could probably still do it."

"My chakra is special." Naruto said flatly.

"Then we can learn at the same time in case it doesn't work," Sakura decided with a sharp nod. She didn't have anything against being a medic, but she did worry that if she took a step back to learn medical ninjutsu, Naruto would get so far ahead she could never catch up. (Could never be useful. Leave him behind - _get left behind_.)

"Medical ninjutsu requires intense memorisation," Yamato added.

"Then it's better we learn together so we can study together." Sakura crossed her arms. She hadn't been sure before, but now that she had decided nothing was going to change her mind, they were _both_ going to learn medical ninjutsu.

"Perhaps it is better this way. All medic-nin are required to spend time working in the hospital this way one of you isn't stuck off missions while the other does their hospital time." The way that Yamato's eyes lingered left the feeling that were words unsaid but he just paused for a moment before moving on.

"Most of the kata I know will be of use to both of you, however I lack much of the knowledge that would help teach them to younger students. I was never a genin or chunin myself due to the kekkei genkai that I possess so I am unable to mimic the teaching method of my own jonin sensei. That said, I will do my best to copy the training taught to me by my taichou. If you survive it will serve you well."

Inner Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, Yamato-sensei was much more of a drama queen than she had first expected.


	7. Chunin Exams: Part 4

Getting up the next morning was an unpleasant experience. Despite having felt pretty good the previous day, she was now surprisingly sore. Each movement felt tight and stiff and when she tried to squat to grab a pot she found her legs shaking like they hadn't done since she had passed basic taijutsu in the academy.

When she finally arrived at the training ground she delicately settled herself on the ground, unwilling to bruise her sore muscles by throwing herself on the ground (no matter how tempting to looked as Naruto did so).

"Are you okay Sakura? You look a bit funny!"

"I'm sore." (" _So very sore_ ," Inner added, ever so helpfully.)

"Sore?" Naruto asked, sounding as confused as he when she had explained what a "form 4D-F" was. Sakura rolled onto her side so she could see Naruto's face. (" _Ouch._ ")

"I used a lot of muscles more than usual so they're getting stronger, but right now there's a build up of acid in them that makes it uncomfortable to use them."

"That sounds yucky," Naruto said, giving her a concerned look. Sakura always wondered why his vocabulary seemed so contradictory. Sometimes he would say things like "coagulating" and others he would rarely use more than 4 letters per word. It was as if sometimes he forgot he even attended the academy. Also, and perhaps more importantly, _had he never been sore?_

"Hello, Team 7." Sakura jumped and turned to find Yamato standing just over a foot away accompanied by a young man.

"Aren't we supposed to be Team Yamato? We used to be Team Kakashi?" Naruto asked, a certain edge to his tone that Sakura couldn't discern.

"I suppose? Hello Team Yamato?"

"Hello Sensei," Sakura said reluctantly. She didn't want to admit to herself or aloud that he was her sensei, but it wouldn't due to be rude.

"Hi-ya!" Naruto said with a casual wave of his hand. He remained laying on the ground while Sakura did her best to stand silently. (She refused to make old people noises in front of a stranger.)

"Team Se- Yamato, this is… ah-" Yamato turned to the boy with a questioning air."

"You may call me Sai-san, or Sai-kun. Please take care of me." The boy (Sai, _supposedly_ ) sounded even more monotone than Kakashi-san had (except for his very worst days).

"Hello, my name is Sakura Haruno." Each word was like a shard of ice cutting her mouth. _She didn't want another teammate_. Instead, she forced herself to give a friendly smile and tried her best to keep the shaking to a minimum.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto sighed with indifference. He barely glanced in Sai's direction, instead glancing longingly at the clouds above.

"Hello Weakling-san, Monster-san."

Sakura barely saw a blur as Naruto stood upright and less punched Sai as _shoved his own fist into the area where Sai's face happened to be_. Sai, in turn, fell into a roll and immediately went to respond… By pulling out a scroll? Before anything interesting could happen however Yamato was standing between them with his hand resting heavily on each of their heads.

"Naruto. It is not appropriate to harm teammates outside of sparring. Sai, it is not appropriate to call your teammates by rude names."

"I see." Sai turned his head to a 40-degree angle that on anyone else would look quizative. On Sai it only emphasised the idea that _something was wrong_. It was like killing intent with less energy spent on Sai's behalf. (The library said that killing intent was difficult to do by accident and to do it on purpose took intense training and practice to use in combat.) "The books I read suggested that nicknames could be used to humanise and establish bonds."

"Weakling and monster are not nicknames, they are insults. Now, Naruto, _sit down_." Yamato spoke slowly, clearly, and suddenly Sakura had the idea that Yamato might've been in ANBU. Naruto sat. "This is Sai. If you want to take part in the chunin exams he will be your teammate."

"Yeah alright," Naruto said with a shrug. Something had changed again. Something in his posture had shifted and the killing intent he was leaking had increased. Although that might also be attributed to Sai. Yamato seemed surprised. By Naruto's words, actions, or behaviour was unclear.

Sai appeared to be a statue made of flesh. (" _Creepy!"_ )

"If Naruto's fine with it then I am too." She said with a shrug. She didn't _want_ another teammate, but they were going to take the chunin exams. So. It didn't seem they had a choice on the matter.

"Great!" Yamato said and clapped his hands together in a gleeful manner that reminded her of Kakashi. Then he froze and looked down at this clasped hands in horror and slowly broke them apart and moved them to his side. "Today we will be working on teamwork exercises for… Obvious reasons."

Sai was. Frustrating. Like all the worst parts of Sasuke and Naruto, _combined_. Annoyingly competent. Irritatingly oblivious. Obnoxiously rude. Terrifyingly inhuman. Worst of all they fell into a rhythm far too easily for her liking. Naruto played close range and took as much damage as the enemy (Yamato in this case) could deal. She herself played mid-range, striking quickly and defending Naruto's weak spots.

Sai used ink to work long distance. He made animals out of drawings and used those to attack. Sakura quickly found that it was much more helpful if she maneuverer Naruto into intercepting attacks towards the ink animals or she deflected the attack if Naruto was busy.

Honestly, he kinda sucked at working _with_ them. She wasn't even sure in Naruto noticed, but he sent his animals as soon as he finished drawing them instead of when it _actually worked well_ with what they were doing. (After the first time she accidentally stepped on an ink snake she became wise to his inability to work as part of a team.) Sakura had already been doing her best to fill the gaps, and honestly, it seemed like all she was good for. Yamato (" _Yamato-_ sensei _!"_ ) seemed to think otherwise but that didn't mean anything. (" _Why does he keep saying we're doing a good job?!"_ )

"Good work Team Seve- Yamato. We won't be doing anything intense tomorrow as I want you all in good condition for the exa- Naruto!" Sakura turned to see Sai and Naruto staring blankly and blowing raspberries at each other respectively. "That's it! You will be all sharing a dinner and room tonight! You cannot afford to go into the chunin exams unprepared - and that includes working together! People die in these exams!"

"People die on missions too, Sensei. We know that already." Naruto said in a solemn tone. Sakura gulped as Sasuke died in front of her eyes. Over. And over. And over again. (A thousand senbon turning him to a pincushion. Freezing. A senbon in a blood red eye. Falling. Falling. Falling.)

"-ramen!" Naruto grinned.

Sakura looked around. Naruto was dragging her along the side streets towards his ramen place. A glance behind showed Yamato and Sai following close behind. Was Naruto? Babbling?

She felt cold. (Like ice.) Everything was so _loud_. (So bright.) Every flash of metal was a senbon come to kill her. (Kill Sasuke. Kill Naruto.)

"I have to go." She mumbled. (Or maybe that was Inner.) (Had she said anything at all?) She blinked and turned and-

Hyperventilating was best done under her sink in the bathroom she had claimed as her own by spreading rarely used makeup, perfume, and nail polish around.

A/N:This will be the last update until the end of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) so I'll see ya'll in December!

Updated as of February 2018: This Fic is not abandoned, nor is it going to be. That said, I am busy in my real life and I'm prioritising my other story, From Outside Eyes. I don't know when I'll next update for those two reasons but this Fic is Not Abandoned.


	8. Chunin Exams: Part 5

The location for the chunin exams had been labelled on the on sign up sheet, and was found in a building that was distinctly _away_ from central Konoha. It was actually a pretty boring building, most likely used by paper ninja for data collection or something. The problem, was that like all ninja buildings in Konoha, it was designed to be difficult to infiltrate. This meant that each staircase only went to one other floor before you had to search the halls for the next one. Some stairs went up multiple stories, and some of the room, floor, and other labels were hard to find or just plain old _wrong_. (" _This is so creepy. I feel like we're going to get into trouble for going out of bounds."_ )

Luckily, Sai knew the building. (Which was distinctly _odd_ considering he was a genin like they were, and _they_ had never been here before. Then again, most people didn't really like Team 7 as far as Sakura could tell.) There were a number of genin gathered around a door, but Sai led them past it, and Naruto barely gave it a second glance. Something in the air was making her head fuzzy, and whether it was the building or Naruto, Sakura tried jolting her chakra. Doing so quickly revealed there was a genjutsu at work which was drawing the genin to the door. To the _wrong_ door.

(They passed this kid in a green jumpsuit. A _skintight_ jumpsuit. Sakura missed gossiping with Ino.)

When Sai finally stopped and stared at them (blank faced, as seemed to be his _least_ creepy expression) there was an unlabelled door that was causing Naruto to hiss slightly for some reason. There's a puff of smoke, and once it clears and both Naruto and Sai fail to react, Sakura tucks her kunai back in her pouch. It's Yamato-sensei, giving off a vaguely pleased aura while still looking entirely intimidating.

"Congraduations on reaching the chunin exam. I know I haven't been part of this team for very long, and Sai even less, but I think you'll do great. Remember to work together." Then he smiles. (Inner's jaw drops.)

Sakura is so shellshocked that Yamato-sensei has to push her through the now open doors into an _arena of terror_.

There is a distinct change in tone from Yamato-sensei's surprise words (lies, every one of the them, but part of his job as their sensei). There are _far_ more people in the room that Sakura expected, more than a hundred, easily. It feels like every. single. one. of them is staring at them. After a moment, Sakura notices that both Sai and Naruto are watching her expectantly. Somehow they have ended up in a 'social situation' and Sakura is most best leader for the situation. Something has gone terribly wrong.

She leads them over to where she can see Ino's light blonde that looks almost washed out, having spent so much time around Naruto's own bright yellow. It's odd, to see Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji standing together. They look the same as they did in the academy, and for a moment Sakura feels old. Like all of time is stretching out behind her, between the moment she graduated until now, she has lost a teammate, a teacher. She cut her hair and learned to listen. She's broken three fingers and the skin of her knuckles no longer bruise so easily.

"Are you ready for the chunin exams," Sakura smirks, "Ino-pig?" (" _She… she looks like a kid."_ Inner says, looking at Ino's prideful smirk and long ponytail.)

"You know it, Forehead!" Ino insists, there's an awkward pause that happens each time they see each other. The space where Sasuke would've come up. Now it's filled with empty air.

"Such a drag," Shikamaru says after a moment, looking predictably bored, although Sakura does notice the way his eyes travel slowly around the room. Choji doesn't say anything as he munches on chips, but he's standing slightly behind Shikamaru and Ino and he looks slightly queasy.

A yip draws Sakura's attention to the right where Kiba less than subtly sliding in front of Akamaru.

"So who's this weirdo?" Kiba says, leaning towards Sai.

"This is Sai, our temporary teammate for the chunin exams." Sakura says, because Naruto is distinctly distracted by all of the people and is overall looking very grumpy. She's not stupid enough to let Sai introduce himself.

"Sakura-san is wrong, I am a full time replacement for Sasuke. It is a pleasure to meet Sakura-san's peers." Sai says in a mechanical tone that has Kiba, Hinata, Ino, and Choji all looking terribly uncomfortable at the end. (Shino's coat covers too much of his face for Sakura to read his expression and Shikamaru looks mostly curious and concerned.)

"Sakura-san!" Sakura turns to see Kabuto approaching with a wave. "I'm glad you were able to find a third teammate!" Kabuto smiles and Sakura feels a bit guilty, he seems like such a nice guy. She still doesn't like him. "I had a streak of good luck too! One of my old teammates, Yoroi, decided to participate and we were able to find someone willing to join us," a light blush started to show on his cheeks. "By the way, not that it's any of my business, but just be careful, okay? This is the first time in years that any Konoha rookies have taken part in the exams. You're not exactly discrete all gathered here…"

A low growl started to permeate from Naruto's throat which makes Kabuto look up from where he's rumaging through his pockets.

"Naruto," Sakura says softly, "he's not on our team, please don't cause a scene." It's barely more than a plea, but Naruto subsides, after sending Sakura an sulking side-eye.

"Uh- I can go if you want? I was just going to offer? I'm an intel ninja so if you had anyone you wanted info on, I could help?" Kabuto holds up a pack of blank cards with bright orange backs.

Sakura doesn't _jump_ , per say, when Naruto's chakra does… something? It feels like Naruto's laughing on the inside (though judging by Kabuto's shudder, it doesn't feel that way to him).

"Gaara of Suna," Naruto says, his voice sounding too deep and rough for a 12 year old boy. (" _Maybe he's using chakra in his throat?"_ Inner suggests, " _he might even be doing it by accident?"_ )

"Oh that's too easy," Kabuto laughs, "a name _and_ a nation?" Kabuto taps the top card and flips it over. It has a little picture of Gaara in the corner, along with the sign for Suna a picture of his teammates. The jounin that had interrupted their… meeting wasn't shown, but there was a little box with a question mark that might be where he was supposed to be. "I don't know a ton about him, he's an international rookie after all. He has taken a B rank though… and?" Kabuto pauses and turns the card back so only he can read it. "Huh. Alright. It says he's _never_ gotten injured on any mission. Not even a scratch." (" _How would he know that?"_ Inner asks, looking sceptical when it would be rude for Outer Sakura to do so.)

"He completed a B-rank without getting a single scratch?" Kiba says, whistling, "that's pretty impressive. Why'd ya wanna-" Naruto glances at Kiba, causing his to go silent.

"Anyone else?" Kabuto asked, "maybe something more difficult?" He gave Sakura an awkward attempt at a sly wink. (" _This guy."_ ) He's not creepy the way those awful bandits from before Yamato had been, the way they had leered had made Naruto fly into a rage and Sakura turn her shower on hot enough to be uncomfortable, after killing them and saving the cart they had been guiding. No, Kabuto wasn't creepy. He was just. Unwanted.

"How about you?" Shikamaru says after a moment, "what's your card say?"

"Oh!" Kabuto looks surprised. And maybe ever so slightly displeased. "Well let's see." He returns Gaara's less than informative card to the deck and pulled out a new one. Kabuto's face was indeed on it. It shows that he's strongest in genjutsu and has completed more 100 C-rank missions, and 6 B-rank missions. Sakura doesn't get the chance to finish reading it though as puff of smoke appears among the crowds.

"Alright you louts!" A voice calls. "It's time for the chunin exams to start!"

The first test is all about technical knowledge. It's all the stuff found on the academy exit exam, just a lot harder. (" _Isn't it a bit weird that they are making you do a technical test?"_ Inner says, voicing Sakura's own concerns.) Something about this feels off, but she can't place her finger on why. The academy graduation test started with a paper test. The decoding question is difficult, but it's probably good for getting more information for Konoha about the people taking the test? Either way, the questions are difficult, but technical knowledge is something that Sakura prides herself on.

"Now for the final question!" Ibiki shouts, making Sakura jump as she finishes her last sentence describing the economic state of Iwa's Capital. "But first! Anyone who fails this test will never be allowed to take part in another chunin exam ever again! If you quit now you can try again in six months, your teammate will have to leave too though."

(" _Oh."_ Inner says, " _I get it now._ ") Really Sakura feels a bit annoyed about doing all that work on the test if this was the real question. A lot of people had been forced to leave for cheating though, so it wasn't an _ineffective_ test. After a moment, one person quits. After being assured they wouldn't be the only one, waves of people leave the hall. Sakura can barely stop herself from staring in shock. (" _What did they_ think _happened on missions? Sage bewildered, do they think that missions are without risk."_ ) More people leave. (" _Or that the village's information is never wrong?"_ )

Team Yamato stays. Silently.

The second test is all about stealing another scroll. Naruto, obviously, is the carrier of the scroll. Sai seems to be the strongest of the three of them, based on the fact that he can kick their butts at taijutsu even without his ink constructs, and he actually knows more than three ninjutsu. That said, Naruto can take more damage than just about anyone short of the Hokage.

Also Naruto's in a bad mood and stuff the scroll in his pocket before they get the chance to talk about it, and Sakura knows when to keep her mouth shut.

Things start out just fine. They find another Konoha team that they don't recognise, they take the scroll. Everything is good. Then Sai goes and _cuts the Konoha nin's throat_.

 _"_ No!" Inner Sakura says, taking control of Outer-Sakura's body while she's on vacation in _Oh-My-Hashirama-My-Teammate-Is-Even-More-Of-A-Sociopath-Than-My-Other-Teammate-Who-People-Literally-Think-Murdered-My-Third-Deceased-Teammate_ Land. "Bad Sai! No killing Konoha ninja!" Inner Sakura pulls a magazine out of no-where and whacks him in the head. Or rather, tries to. Sai dodges of course. Inner grumbles for a few more minutes, but dead is dead and getting angry won't bring them back. Honestly, Sakura's just tired.

The forest is dark, and the lack of light is making it wet and cold and bugs are _not_ a tasty meal. Even worse, she's worried that every bug will have Shino on her ass and really she just wants a nap and warm shower. Even missions are better than this nonsense.

"I can't help feeling like you're under-reacting," Naruto comments, "when people thought _I_ killed a Konoha ninja they took me down to T&I and tortured me. And Sai just gets off with hit with an… imaginary? magazine?" After a moment he adds, "I mean, I assume it was imaginary. I have no idea how you pulled a magazine out of your kunai pouch but I'm pretty sure it wasn't there before."

Don't get her wrong, Sakura hates when Naruto's in a bad mood, but when he's in a good mood like this it's its own form of torture. Speak of-

"T&I tortured you?"

"Well. They stuck me in an all white room alone for _ages_ , didn't bring me any food, and interrogated me. So I think so? I don't remember the academy's talk about torture other than 'suicide for your nation is an honourable death' or some other rot."

Sakura should definitely be reacting more strongly to that. She just can't though. She spent 3 hours in an exam that meant nothing, slept for 6 hours in a damp forest with giant centipede for breakfast. The fauna so far has been many times more dangerous than any ninja they've come across and for _once_ Sakura doesn't want to have to be the only sane one.

Luckily she doesn't have to think about it any more because a GIANT FREAKING SNAKE bursts out the trees like a water canon jutsu and _eats Sai_.


	9. Chunin Exams: Part 6

The snake is out of view as soon as Sakura sees it, and Sakura hasn't even fully processed what happened (only just realised that she should bring her kunai up into first pose) when _someone_ walks into view. Sakura couldn't comment on the gender of said person. They have long hair and feminine features that don't match the way way the stranger walks. The broader steps and shoulder movements match more to likes of a male jounin than a female genin (according to Sakura's kunoichi class sensei at least).

The warning that Sakura felt when Naruto first growled, she feels again.

She steps into Naruto's shadow, the safest place in the world as far as she can tell. It's only half a step or so, but the stranger notices, and their lips quirk in a smirk.

"I wanted to give you my offer in person, Uzumaki-san. I had to get your Konoha spy out of the way, you understand. It wouldn't due for him to try and kill you before I could say anything."

Naruto says nothing, doesn't even twitch as far as Sakura can tell. It's not reassuring in the way she was hoping it would be.

"My name is Orochimaru," the stranger says, one light skinned hand reaching up to their forehead and _peeling the skin away_. The skin behind it is nearly white, grey maybe. More blue toned than the human pink shades. Under the… fake? skin even the _shape_ of the stranger's face is different, a broader jaw and sharper nose. The stranger continues to approach, far too close for comfort now.

"I am the Otokage of the village hidden in the Sound. I normally wouldn't bother with a charade like this, but it is _very_ difficult to get close to you, Uzumaki-san."

Sakura is not as strong as Naruto. Sakura is not as fast as Kakashi. She's not unshakable like Yamato. But like _hell_ is she going to let this _creep_ near _her Naruto_. ("You don't even know any genjutsu you idiot!" Inner screeches, "and all of our ninjutsu are defensive!") Sakura doesn't even need to try and throw a kunai to know it'd be useless. The stranger (Orochumari - supposedly) has a _summon_.

Her heart is beating so quickly she feels sick to her stomach and there's a slimy panic building at the root of her throat. (Naruto is _hers_!) She is useless here. She pulls an exploding tag out of her pouch attaches it to her kunai anyway. Iruka-sensei repeated over and over again that overconfidence is deadly. That it only takes _one_ mistake to die. ("I wish we carried poison.")

Sakura is not suicidal. She's not going to attack Orochimaru. She's not gonna let him do whatever he wants either though. Naruto is hers.

"I know your scent," Naruto says. His voice is soft and if Sakura didn't know better, she might even say guileless. Sakura knows Naruto though.

Naruto has two types of anger. He has the hot, fiery rage. Like when Sai called him a monster, or when one of their clients said he'd rather die than have Naruto guide them. It's violent and often loud, but it's fast (it's survivable).

The other type of anger is cold like gales of icy wind on an empty tundra.

"I like to explore, you see." Naruto raises a hand and inspects his pointed fingernails. "There are all sorts of interesting, hidden places in Konoha. So many dirty little secrets."

There's a moment of silence before Naruto looks up and locks eyes on Orochimaru, who looks amused. "You haven't been in Konoha is long while, but your scent is still rather heavy in your laboratory. It soaked into your surviving experiments." Naruto steps into the partially crouching position he fights in. " _That poor girl_."

Naruto snarls, a deep rumbling sound that makes the ground shake. ("He's twelve," Inner says in disbelief.) It doesn't sound human, not even remotely.

"I wouldn't join you if your were the reincarnation of the Sage himself."

That's Sakura's queue (this man is an enemy, delaying does no good) so she throws her kunai as quickly as she can manage with any level of precision. The tag explodes, but Sakura saw the blur before and knows that Orochimaru dodged. She has a kunai in each hand. Naruto's chakra cloak is bubbling into creation.

Sakura throws three kunai into the snakes that approach with speed and then the fight escalates above her level.

There's a blur of pale grey as Orochimaru launches forward, a blur of orange as Naruto darts against and then small sparks and the sound of snarling. She can't even see the details of the fight, they're moving too quickly. She can see the way they jump into the air and then into the trees and into the air again.

A burst of fire forces her to dodge out of view.

Naruto killing intent rises until Sakura feels jittery and paranoid. Every shadow is an enemy. Every twig in the tree is a weapon coming to kill her. (There's nothing she can do. She's _useless._ )

Naruto lands beside her for a moment and she can smell blood before he disappears again.

(Useless.)

There's blood on the ground where he stood.

( _useless_ )

A tree crashes. Naruto's limp from the impact that cracked it, laying against the tree. There's a branch skewering his shoulder.

(Naruto is hers.)(There's nothing she can do.)

His eyes are open and enraged. There's blood dripping down his neck like a morbid necklace.

( _Hers._ )(She's useless.)

Orochimaru saunters towards Naruto and she's not suicidal- but. But. _Naruto_.

She darts forward in the sort of desperation she imagines from a last stand. There's a kunai in her hand. She has 11 more kunai in her pocket. Four explosive tags. Fifteen shuriken. A single solider pill (a gift from her mother). A length of rope and a small dead weight. The academy taijutsu style. Three ninjutsu.

(Tears gather in her eyes.)

She throws the kunai, drawing Orochimaru's attention. His face is bruised along the cheekbone. There's blood dripping down his fingertips. There's mud and chakra burnt fabric on the back of his shirt. His pant leg is split. He dodges by pivoting, the kunai flies by uselessly, not even catches his hair.

(She doesn't want to die.)

He smiles. It's unpleasant. She zig-zags so that hopefully any attacks he makes are more likely to miss, still trying to grow closer. She's a close range fighter. He looks more like a genjutsu type.

"Kai!" Sakura shouts, fluctuating her chakra. The scene doesn't change. (She wishes it was a genjutsu.) Naruto is still (limp). (Dead-broken-gone. Left-her-alone.)

She punches him. (He stepped to the side but she knows this, she knows close range fighting.) She's learning to strengthen her punches with chakra (just a little, too much and she'll rupture her tenkensu).

(There's two parts to it. The first is strengthening her arm and fist to absorb the impact without hurting herself. The second is expel chakra from the tenkensu points on her fist to harm her opponent. That second part is the most dangerous part. The first isn't easy either.)

She doesn't module her chakra the same way she normally would. She'll only get one chance, and unless she can distract him long enough for Naruto to recover then they'll both die. This way maybe he'll survive. (He heals so quickly, she's not sure anything short of losing his head or his heart would kill him.)

She pushes spikes of chakra from her hand into Orochimaru. She can feel the bones in her hand as they break. (Her skin will bleed without any visible sign of injury. It will feel like third degree burns, but on one will be able to tell until her skin starts to heal, showing the bone and muscle underneath.)

She can feel Orochimaru's organs collapse under her fist, but she hasn't even finished throwing the punch when Orochimaru is across the clearing. She needs to move _now._

Substitution jutsu lands her near the tree where Naruto is pulling himself off the branch in his shoulder. (There's a lot of blood.)

Orochimaru is on the opposite side of the clearing, where she and Naruto started. He's holding a hand against his stomach and there's blood dripping down his lips like a dramatic costume.

"Impressive," Orochimaru smiles condescendingly, "I've neve-" He cocks his head and blurs, in his place is Sai. Holding a sword that he definitely didn't have before. His sword posed to have cut Orochimaru in half had he not moved.

"I think it would be best if you left." Sai said, his slow, considering words out of place in the situation. "If you do not leave then Konoha ANBU will be forced to interfere and Team Yamato would be required to re-take the exam. That would be inconvenient."

Orochimaru looked to Naruto and sighed, "and I don't suppose sealing you and taking you home would do any good now would it. Ah well," a smirk spread across his face. "If you are ever tired of Konoha, and all that it entails, you will be welcome with me and mine."

Orochimaru leapt to the edge of the edge of the clearing in one go before adding, "and your… teammate… would be welcome too, if she's that important to you."


	10. Chunin Exams: Part 7

One team tries to ambush them as they reach the tower. Sakura never saw their hi-ate. Sai killed them and even Inner didn't care.

(" _Orochi-fucking-maru. Who the fuck has such a stupid fucking name!"_ ) Perhaps it's more that Inner is worried about other things.

Upon entering the tower there was a wall, and a message and honestly Sakura had nothing left to give. It clearly was some sort of riddle and usually she loved those but right now her hand hurt and her brain hurt and she was _scared_.

 _If qualities of heaven are your desire,_

 _acquire wisdom to take your mind higher._

 _If earthly qualities are what you lack,_

 _train your body and prepare to attack._

 _When heaven and earth are opened together,_

 _the perilous path will become righteous forever._

 _This _ is the secret way that guides us from this place today._

"That looks really old," Naruto says looking up at the worn scroll on the wall. (" _Soooo helpful there Naruto,"_ Inner snarks as Sakura realises that how she feels on the matter is unimportant. Unless Sai knows the answer, she'll probably have to figure it out. Naruto clearly isn't going to.)

"Poetry is not an area I have proficiency," Sai says. He looks at her, and although he has no facial expression or vocal deviations Sakura can feel the silent weight of his expectations.

"Desire and lacking - you only desire something you lack, similar meanings but different connotations." Sakura says, brainstorming aloud, "Heaven and earth - opposites. Mind and body - opposites that work together." It's not a bone deep exhaustion so much as bone deep exhaustion/exasperation/fear/excitement/horror…. Maybe it's not the bone deep need for sleep and quiet so much as confusion over the emotion whiplash of the past week. Who could say. "The missing kanji…." It's an noun, obviously. This person?

( _"This_ Naruto _is the secret way that guides us from this place today,"_ Inner says, testing the way it sounds. " _Nope. Not a person."_ )

A place?

(" _This_ Konoha _is the secret that guides us from this place today? Unlikely."_ )

A thing, then.

(" _This_ scroll _is the secret that guides us from this place today?"_ Inner pauses for a moment and Sakura twitches slightly when both Naruto and Sai look sharply at her.)

A thing. What do they have that could be worthy of passing. It's singular. So it's probably not the scrolls, even if that would make sense given that they are the 'heaven' and 'earth' scrolls…. _When heaven and earth are opened together, the perilous path will become righteous forever._ A strange choice of words - righteous. Could it be the scrolls? Sai makes animals with his scrolls - _this_ animal _is the secret way that guides us from this place today._ That would make sense.

Righteous. Body. Mind. Righteous is kind of like the spirit - chakra! Mental and physical energy combine to make chakra! _This_ chakra _is the secret way that guides us from this places today._

Sakura sighs. The possibilities are endless. The chakra of who, and where? Physical and mental energies were always together so why would it talk about _putting_ them together?

"Sakura," Naruto says, somewhat sharply. Sakura look up, out of her despair to see Naruto holding out a ration bar. She takes it but glares at Naruto as she eats it - if he had this then why did they have to eat bugs earlier? Sai is on the ground, transcribing the riddle onto this own scroll.

When her bar is finished and she looks back up, determination and utter exhaustion mean that she is going to get the answer, and she's going to get it _fast_. She was the one who could answer all of the questions in the chunin exam! She is smart enough to be a chunin!

 _If qualities of heaven are your desire,_

 _acquire wisdom to take your mind higher._

Alright. So if you want heaven, be smarter. Heaven is good, bright, safe. They have a heaven scroll.

 _If earthly qualities are what you lack,_

 _train your body and prepare to attack._

Now instead of desire it's talking about lack. Like maybe you don't want it, but you need it anyway? Earth is steady, strong, consistent. They have an earth scroll. Prepare to attack? It might be dangerous?

 _When heaven and earth are opened together,_

 _the perilous path will become righteous forever._

They need to open the scrolls. The perilous path - maybe there's another way to do it? The path is safe if you open or have both scrolls? So those who try to pass _without_ both scrolls are in danger.

 _This_ -something- _is the secret way that guides us from this place today._

The secret way? There's a less dangerous path? Maybe if you only have one you have to find a route up in the air - _take your mind higher_ \- and it's a lot more dangerous - _prepare to attack_? But if you have both scrolls, and open them, then you can find a safe, secret path?

"I think," Sakura starts slowly, "we need to open the scrolls."

"We were told not to open them," Sai says. The emptiness of his expression making Sakura pause for a moment. His tone is absolutely flat and his face is empty and Sakura still gets the feeling that there's emotion behind it. Like a plain white mask shattered in the centre. Sakura knows there is something deeply broken in Sai. She hopes it won't kill her.

"I think they told us not to open them before because without them we won't be able to pass to the next stage." Sakura says, the pieces still don't fit together perfectly, but it feels like the right path.

"It's not as if Konoha never gives misleading instructions," Naruto says, glaring at the riddle, "underneath the underneath and all that."

"As you say," Sai agrees without actually agreeing. He pulls a scroll from his bag. Sakura and Naruto both look at him. Naruto reaches into his pouch and pulls out a scroll that is distinctly _not_ the heaven _or_ earth scroll. They both look back to Sai who pulls a second scroll out of his bag.

"Sai…" Sakura starts, before deciding that that would be far too much work right now. She wants a nap, and she wants it now. She does _not_ want to deal with Sai's… mistrust? Or whatever his motivation is. Sai hands her the scrolls, which she opens.

"Ah, a summoning scroll," Sai says when smoke starts to seep off the paper. (" _SHIT,"_ Inner shouts.) Sakura throws the scrolls away.

" _Prepare to attack_ ," Sakura says, echoing the riddle. Naruto moves to the front and Sai to the back, prepared for whatever comes out.

"Hello Team Seven!" Iruka Umino - her academy sensei says with a smile. "Congratulations on passing the second exam!"

xXx

 _This chunin is the secret way that will guide you from this place today_. The words echo in Sakura's head. It's not right. Sure, Iruka-sensei is a chunin and he did let them pass the second part of the exam safely… But that would be treating chunin like a thing and not a person. That's not how it works, is it?

The Hokage looks down on them and talks about war and friendship. Sakura remembers the lack of Iwa or Kiri genin in the exam. How many were there, were there any at all? What about the smaller nations? The whole talk just makes her more confused honestly.

Kabuto and his team made it, Sakura notices, looking around the room. Of the six teams to pass five of them are Konoha teams. The other is the Suna team with the red haired boy Naruto wants to fight.

"There will be a random match up for the preliminaries. The first fight is between," a sickly chunin says, pausing as the electronic board flashes through names, "Sai and Yoroi!"

The fight is honestly. Well it's a bit pitiful. As soon as they start Sai pulls out his sword and cuts his opponent open. The fight is less than a full minute long.

All of the genin are like that. Choji is slow and Kiba is obvious. Ino is trying but Sakura wonders if she has ever been in an _actual_ fight. It makes Sakura uncomfortable to watch, or participate in. She feels no joy in her victory, only confusion and the feeling that she beat up a child.

Naruto doesn't even get to fight. The girl from Suna - Temari - immediately forfeits from their match up. Luckily Gaara passes as well so it wasn't all for nothing.

Sakura can't help but feel scornful of her fellow genin. Are these really the best available?

xXx

They are told to attend the third exam in one months time. Yamato tells them to meet him tomorrow in their usual place. Then Sakura walks home.

Konoha is one of the biggest shinobi villages, but it's not large. Sakura's been to the Capital now and in comparison Konoha is tiny. She knows the streets. She knows Mimi-oba-san from the grocery store and and Hashi-oji-san from the shinobi supply store. She waves at that woman that her mother knows but she can never remember the name of. The baker Dad likes gives her a free bunny shaped pastry.

The whole thing feels surreal. She's not one of them anymore. She feels like they are drawing overlaid on one another. They live on one layer and the shinobi world lives on another. They are close but cannot touch, cannot see, cannot know one another.

She has walked down this street thousands of times.

She walked down this street with Ino, less than a year ago, arguing over whether Sasuke was more likely to be buying food or training at the time. They had both been smiling. Ino had bought dango and Sakura had stolen one the skewers. A dog with brown and grey fur had run past them and Ino had said that cats were better than dogs. (Ino was wrong a lot.)

She had walked down this street with Ino when they were still friends, on their way to the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino bouncing around and taking advantage of everyone thinking she was an adorable little girl instead of a devious destroyer of cakes. Sakura had still been uncomfortable with how imbalanced their friendship was. She had thought Ino was so much better than her at everything. Ino's dad had given her a flower.

Sakura and her Mother had walked down this street hand in hand looking for a present to give to Dad. He had been on a mission and gotten home early and they'd had to run out the door to find something. By the time they'd reached this street they had forgotten the time pressure and were enjoying the autumn weather.

Sakura's Father had given her a piggy back ride down this street. Sakura had waved at every person she saw so they would notice how tall she was. The baker had given her a treat - she couldn't remember what anymore.

Now Sakura walks down the street alone. The quiet allowing her to remember that her hand hurts. A lot. She's tired. She's scared, scared that Orochimaru will come back and decide that his plan works better with her dead. She's worried about changing. Her teammates clearly have no regard for human life and Sakura knew that she's going the same way.

At the same time, she can't regret not being the little girl she once was. She doesn't regret the strength she has built within herself. She doesn't regret killing bandits. Maybe she should, but she doesn't.

She wonders if she'll end up like Sasuke, dead from a mission and forgotten. Would her parents mourn her? They were very practical people, perhaps they have already done so. Perhaps her parents mourned her death when she joined the academy, or when she graduated. Perhaps when she dies they will have another child. Perhaps they will name that child Sakura, and they'll pretend she never existed in the first place.

Sakura sees the people she knows and she wonders if they will remember her. Will Ino mourn her death? She is from a clan and Sakura can still remember her brushing off the death of a relative as 'something that happens'.

At least she knows Naruto will remember her.

A/N:

The preliminary match ups were as follows:

Sai, Yoroi - Sai won  
Choji, Shino - Shino won  
Misumi, Kankuro - Kankuro won  
Sakura, Kiba - Sakura won  
Rock Lee, Ino - Rock Lee won  
Shikamaru, Tente - Shikamaru won  
Naruto, Temari - Naruto won (Temari forfeit)  
Hinata, Neji - Neji won (as in canon)  
Gaara, Kabuto - Gaara won (Kabuto forfeit)

The match up for the final exam are as follows:

Rock Lee, Naruto  
Neji, Kankuro  
Shikamaru, Sakura  
Gaara, Sai  
Shino gets a free pass


	11. Chunin Exams: Part 8

Since it's been six months since I updated, a summary of the fic so far:  
There's something weird about Naruto. Sasuke is dead. Kakashi stopped being their teacher. Now they're doing the chunin exam, Yamato is their teacher and Sai is their replacement teammate. Orochimaru came for Naruto but then left. Sakura is a bit messed up. They now have a month to train before the last part of the chunin exams.

"When were you going to tell me that Orochimaru attacked you during the chunin exams!" Yamato says, sounding so stressed he's almost shouting. Sakura thinks he might be physically incapable of changing his vocal range further.

"Uh. I forgot about that," Sakura says, which is almost true. It felt as is everyone had to know, how could they not? At the same time though… Orochimaru was there for Naruto, and Naruto is her first priority. She hasn't had the chance to talk to him about how he wants to act on it yet.

"You… forgot?" Yamato looks at her, speaking slowly. Sakura shrugs. "I-" Yamato pauses and pinches the bridge of his nose and murmurs something Sakura can't hear. He takes a deep breath releases a long suffering sigh. "Fine. Whatever. Okay."

(" _Yamato-sensei doesn't seem 'okay'_ ," Inner remarks, almost sounding concerned.)

"Naruto, you're going to to be up against Rock Lee for the first round of the final exams. He's a year above you and a taijutsu specialist so it's not going to be an easy fight for you." He pauses and Sakura wonders if she's misreading the aura of suffering Yamato is giving off. "...Luckily for you, I've seen him in action." Fair enough. Rock Lee kicked Ino's butt. Easily. Sakura had actually felt rather embarrassed on Ino's behalf.

"We'll be working on improving your speed and chakra control. Hopefully I'll have time to teach you a genjutsu or two before the exam, either way I think you have a decent chance against him." Naruto nodded and Yamato turned to Sakura.

"Since there's a chance you three will have to fight each other I don't want to train you together. Sai already has someone to teach him," Sakura didn't think she was mistaking the unhappiness coming from Yamato with that statement. "I'll be teaching Naruto-" probably because no one else would get close to him.

After a brief pause, Yamato turned to Sakura. "I've asked a friend to help you train. You're against Shikamaru for the first round so you'll be working on beating a smarter opponent." Sakura was actually offended. Shikamaru had been _way_ below her in academic rankings at the academy.

"Sai, I've been told not to worry about you," Yamato says, missing or ignoring the look of indignation Sakura was sure must be showing. Did he really think that little of her? She knew she wasn't that great at fighting or anything… but dumber than Shikamaru? Who slept through almost every lesson? Who Ino had to physically drag to training?

("Obviously he's not a complete idiot," Inner reminded her, "the way he beat that girl Tenten showed that easily enough." After a moment Inner added, "he's still pretty damn lazy.")

So really Sakura just needed to make it more work than it was worth to beat her. Maybe if she could poison him? She'd still need to hit him though. His shadow thing seemed like something that required at least decent chakra control so he might be able to break genjutsu. Ino was really good at noticing genjutsu so he might not have learned to since they, as a team, were designed to cover each other's weaknesses…

A woman appears next to Yamato. Sakura starts to take a step forward, kunai in hand, before Yamato nods to her. The woman has dark black hair, braided tightly down her back. Sakura would guess that she was somewhere between 18 and 28 years old, it was hard to tell though because chakra had such an impact.

Medical chakra made the healed person age slightly faster but there were certain ways that medics could de-age their own skin cells. (Most shinobi didn't bother though.) Suzume-sensei had taught them it was important to be able to guess the age of their target as it affected which cultural touchstones they most closely connected with.

Sakura glances at Naruto, who is watching closely but isn't say, growling. His nose is twitching though. They share a look but Sakura can't tell what he thinks of her.

"I am Hako," the woman said. Her pale blue eyes are eerie against the darkness of her hair. Luckily Sakura was used to a much higher calibre of creepy so it only took a moment for her to adjust. The woman - Hako - turned to Yamato, "you will build the house for my time." There was a tanto on the woman's back. (" _It would be useful to be able to use a mid-range weapon,_ " Inner said, humming thoughtfully.)

"I already agreed, didn't I?" Yamato said, tone somewhere between a pout and a grumble.

"You will do it today." For a moment it looked like Yamato would protest but instead he nodded and waved her off.

"Hai, hai."

"Sakura Haruno," the woman turned towards Sakura, "follow me." The woman turns and starts walking fast enough that Sakura has to run to catch up, and jog to keep up. Sakura almost feels betrayed that Yamato would separate them. On the other hand, she's kind of excited?

The woman leads her through the city towards the cliff with the Hokage monument on it. Sakura follows close behind, trying to read the woman's gait. (A futile endeavour, she suspects. Most Konoha citizens have at least glimpsed the tanto of the ANBU uniform, identical to the one on Hako's back.)

"There are lots of foreigners in Konoha for the chunin exam. I will train you in private." Hako says, the slight distaste in the way she says 'foreigner' much the way Sakura would say 'Kiba' or 'pickled prunes'. Hako enters a storage shop, full of scrolls and ink, ignoring all of the supplies and entering the staff door. Sakura's been to the shop before. She remembers realising it was popular with older shinobi, chunin mostly, and buying her school equipment from there.

She suspects that the chunin she saw entering the shop were not doing so to take advantage of their sturdy paper files.

The staff room has a chunin, working on some paperwork at a desk, and an unmarked steel door. The chunin only looks up briefly to glance at each of their hi-ates before returning to what appears to be a mission report. Sakura does her best to look like she belongs. Hako doesn't bother, because she looks like she belongs without trying and, no, Sakura isn't jealous of Hako's confidence. (" _I'm not,"_ Inner insists, even though there is no one to hear it except for Outer, who agrees.)

The steel door opens to a tunnel.

Hako leads Sakura down a path, up and down staircases, past half a dozen chunin guards. As far as Sakura can tell they're in Kiri by now.

The training ground that Hako closes them into is not large. It's perhaps the size of the academy classroom, but much more interesting. The room is set up like an obstacle course with no start or end. A patch of mud, a wooden wall, some ropes hanging from the ceiling. Speakers in the corner of the room project the sound of trees rustling and birds chirping.

"We will train in here. First, we will spar. This is not a taijutsu spar so feel free to use whatever you have on you as well as any ninjutsu or genjutsu."

Sakura doesn't pause to think about it, instead running as fast as she can behind the wooden wall. It won't stop Hako for long, but Sakura only has one functional arm. She knows three jutsu.

Before Sakura can get any further through taking stock there is a foot in her back and she's flying forward-

Both arms raise automatically to protect her head as she rolls. The wounded arm scrapes the ground along the elbow and Sakura takes in a sharp breath at the pain. It feels strange to be in a fight without Naruto. Vulnerable. Normally she could check what she had and Naruto would watch her back.

Sakura jumps back, left arm tucked against her arm as she uses her right hand to grab a kunai. She spins around, looking for Hako. There's no one there. In a moment of desperation she remembers hearing about chakra sensing, but she knows nothing about it. How would she even start on it?

Cautiously, Sakura tugs on the warm glow of chakra inside her, trying to direct it in front of her. Her vision flickers for a moment. She feels another kick to her head, most of the force was clearly withheld to avoid breaking her neck. It still hurts though, and black dots bubble in her vision.

(" _She didn't make a sound,"_ Inner whispers, scared now.) It's not all that uncommon for shinobi to be silent, but Sakura's never had an opponent like that. How was she supposed to find Hako? She spins around, again, only to an empty room. It most feels as though the shadows are stretching. As though the ground is shaking. As if the trees are reaching towards her with branches like tentacles.

"I will be teaching you genjutsu." Hako says, ignoring Sakura as she lurches up right and vomits off to the side. "Your sensei tells me you have good chakra control. He asked me to teach you. Perhaps you will be an assassin like me."

Sakura can't help but stare blankly at the woman. The last thing she can remember was the overwhelming terror that she would have happily defected from Konoha to stop.

"You got close. Good instincts." Hako says, her tone not quite encouraging. (It's still better than anything Hatake-san had offered though.) Sakura's doesn't really believe the woman. She hadn't thought she was in a genjutsu, it was a fluke that she moved her chakra at all.

"Thank you," Sakura says anyway. Good manners are important.

"Stand now. You must read about the brain first, before using genjutsu. Most genjutsu books are restricted to chunin so you will read these medical books and meet me here tomorrow." Hako says, handing Sakura a piece of paper. Then she disappears in a swirl of leaves.

Sakura looks around. She has no idea where she is. The sun is bright overhead. She's on a hill, the grass dancing in a pleasant breeze. The sounds of Konoha drift from the cliffs far off that… upon a closer glance is actually the Hokage Monument. She's far outside of Konoha.

(" _Will we even make it home?"_ Inner asks.) The outside of Konoha is forest for at least a day's walk in any direction. That's why it's called the Hidden Leaf Village. It's easy to get lost in the forests of Konoha, even as a native. Foreigners have little chance of finding their way.

It's strange then, that Sakura is out on a hill, covered in grass. It's even stranger the way that everything feels increasingly fuzzy. The wind isn't cold enough. She can't smell the wet earth of the forest. A particular Academy exercise comes to mind.

"I see a green hill, covered in green grass," Sakura says out loud. "I hear wind," does she really though? She had noticed it at first, but now it's quiet. "I smell…" not grass, not rich soil. It feels like she should be smelling those things because of what she can see but- "sand?" The disconnection makes her head spin slightly.

She takes a deep breath. (" _You're in a genjutsu, dummy."_ Inner says, hands on hips, looking around.) Sakura flickers her chakra, and the scene flickers in turn. She's somewhere dark, but she can't see much beyond that. The genjutsu doesn't fully break, which tells Sakura that it's tailored to her. (" _So you can either hurt yourself, or you can try and unravel it.")_ Usually Sakura would unravel it, but right now she's off balance and a bit scared.

And her ruined arm is just… right there.

She drags her nails down the arm she punched Orochimaru with, the pain making her stomach curl. A splitting headache grows to almost unbearable proportions until Inner looks a bit worried.

The world shudders and the genjutsu peels away.

She's laying on the ground of the training room Hako had shown her. There's a scroll sitting within arm's reach of her head. Sakura stands, feeling for all the world as if she's watching herself from the outside. She dusts herself off and walks towards the exit, scroll clutched tight. Determined.

A/N:

I do not love this chapter, but c'est la vie.


	12. Chunin Exams: Part 9

**Previously on Red Eyes in the Dark:  
** **Sasuke is dead. Sakura, Naruto, and Sai are taking the chunin exams and, despite a brief fight with Orochimaru, aren't finding it as hard as Sakura had expected. Now it's time for the final part of the chunk exams.**

 **.**

 **The line up for the first round of the final exams is as follows:  
** **Rock Lee, Naruto  
** **Neji, Kankuro  
** **Shikamaru, Sakura  
** **Gaara, Sai  
** **Shino gets a free pass.**

xXx

Sakura wouldn't say that her month of training with Hako was _fun_ per say. It was interesting, intense, and educational. Her free time was lonely while Naruto was training with Yamato. She was also constantly on edge, unsure of the truth her eyes presented. So definitely not _fun._

She'd worn a blindfold for a full day, with Hako promising that she wouldn't be under any genjutsu during that time. The next day though, she had to wander Konoha, still blindfolded, breaking through Hako's genjutsu as soon as she noticed them. Those two days hadn't been particularly bad except for the fact that half of Konoha saw her walk into walls.

Without a second of hesitation Sakura would give just about anything to get another month of training before the tournament. That's not a choice though, so instead Sakura ties her forehead protector around her stomach.

Now that she's (finally) gotten her hair cut short there's nothing to tie back anymore. Some part of her hates the haircut for the way it makes her look like a boy, but she cares more about the risk to her life if it gets in the way. There had been several chunks too short to tie back so the next best choice was to cut it short.

Looking in the mirror, Sakura can see how much she's changed. She looks older. (Worn.) Her hair is short and her forearms are covered by armoured gloves. (" _The fact that they are navy blue like Sasuke's shirt is a complete coincidence_ ," Inner says, rolling her eyes at Sakura's drama despite the fact that her appearance is older, and frankly tired.)

The chunin exam stadium is set on the eastern edges of Konoha, where the trees easily outnumber the buildings, but still protected by the wall around the city. From ground level it's an imposing building and the river of people entering only makes Sakura's nerve sting all the harder. Excitement at seeing Naruto again (" _For the first time in 29 day!_ ") helps drive her forward.

In the competitors waiting area, Naruto is waiting.

"Hey Naruto!" Sakura says, sliding up next to him (though not _too_ close, in case he wants some space). His hair's become overgrown, his nail are long and sharp, and his eyes are strangely soft as they turn to her.

"Hello Sakura."

No matter how much Sakura wants to ask Naruto about this month, if he doesn't want to talk she's not going to push. She's not suicidal after all.

"Hello," Sai says, from her shoulder. Sakura barely glances at him, though she does note that his voice is somehow more monotone than she remembers.

"Welcome to the Finals of the Konoha Chunin Exam!" A voice in the stadium announces, leading the audience and competitors through the rules and restrictions. "Up first is Rock Lee v. Naruto Uzumaki! If the competitors will enter the stadium…"

The fight is fast.

Sakura can barely see as Lee is kicking Naruto in the face before he's even able to activate the chakra that bubbles around him. As Naruto is flying towards the stadium wall he flips in mid-air so he can dig his hands into the ground to slow. But then Lee's there again and Sakura watches in shock as his foot connects with Naruto's face.

Naruto's chakra coat finally appears as he hits the wall, cracks appearing around him. As he stands up Sakura notices the way the concrete wall around Naruto looks as if it's started to melt.

"My worthy opponent!" Lee shouts, pausing on the other side of the stadium, "You are no match for my speed!"

"No," Naruto says, his voice deep and inhuman, "I'm not." And then he smiles and Sakura would swear his teeth are all sharp and canine-like, the edges of his mouth far too close to his cheek bone.

What looks almost like a tail appears in the orange chakra coat. Huge ears made of chakra appear at the top of his head. He crouches low, as if he means to run like an animal.

The tail waves back and forth like a real tail, leaving a gouge in the concrete wall where it brushes into it.

"I am honoured to see you are taking this seriously! I too will do my best!" Lee says and moves quickly to remove something? The ground next to him turns into a mushroom cloud of dust as something hits the ground.

A breeze around Lee seems to start up as he crosses his arms in front of himself. A vein pops in Lee's forehead and a wisp of blue chakra swirls around his arms before subsiding.

(" _Huh. They might actually be a good match."_ Inner Sakura says, slightly stunned.) Even if Sakura used _all_ of her chakra, she would likely only create a single streak of visible chakra.

And then the two of them are running at each other, colliding in the air in the middle of the stadium.

The resulting blast makes Sakura's ears ring.

"I! Will! Not! Lose!" Lee shouts, but Sakura can see the blood staining the front of his green suit. He crosses his arms again and a whirl of blue chakra erupts around him, and they he's running at Naruto once more.

There's a moment of grappling and then Naruto flies into the wall. He barely pauses before Lee's foot kicks the sides of his head.

Naruto's head snaps to the side but his arm is on Lee's leg and even from the sidelines Sakura can hear as Lee's leg is twisted around backwards.

Lee screams.

Burning bloodlust makes the hair on the back of Sakura's neck rise and she turns to see sand spinning around Gaara. His breathing is audible and the sound of sand is like a whisper.

"You'll get his blood mother. I promise. I'll feed you." His voice is rasping and Sakura takes half a step back before she remembers herself and turns back to Naruto's fight. Gaara isn't going to kill her. Not right now at least.

In the stadium, Lee is on the ground, his right leg has been twisted 180 degrees and there's charred flesh where Naruto had gripped his leg.

"The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!" The proctor says, his words a bit rushed as he leads medics into the stadium.

For a moment a flash of Naruto's bloodlust fills the air before the chakra coat around his mostly subsides. Then he's ambling up the staircase into the waiting area, the walls softening where his hand brushes over it.

"Good job," Sakura says, smiling at Naruto despite the slight frown on his face. He grunts but doesn't reply otherwise. Sai says nothing, his eyes searching the stadium.

"Next up is Neji Hyuuga v. Kankuro of Suna!"

Sakura completely misses that fight for two reasons. The first is that it only lasts about one minute, total. The second is that Naruto and Gaara decided _now_ would be a good time to start glaring at each other.

"Oh don't worry lil' bro, I won't kick your ass _too_ badly!" Naruto says, a weird smile on his face and the air around him seeming to wobble at the influx of chakra.

"Why does Mother know you, an ant?" Gaara says. His pupils so contracted it's a wonder he can see.

"What, Shukkie didn't tell you about me?" Naruto says, leading towards an almost vibrating Gaara.

"The winner is Neji Hyuuga! Next up is Shikamaru Nara v. Sakura Haruno!"

With only a moment of hesitation Sakura moves down the stairs to the stadium. Shikamaru isn't a great match up for Sakura. (Not that anyone is a _good_ match up…)

Shikamaru's preliminary fight had shown that he could control shadows to some extent. Sakura suspected this was the sort of ninjutsu that required excellent chakra control, which would let him more easily detect and break any of Sakura's genjutsu. Ino had always insisted that Shikamaru was smart, when he could be bothered to try. Given that Ino was better in almost every class compared to Sakura, that wasn't encouraging.

"What a drag."

It seemed to Sakura that the only way she could win would be to make it too much of a hassle for Shikamaru to win. He was lazy on an almost legendary scale. She'd once watched him spend an entire afternoon trying to convince someone else to grab him lunch since he couldn't be bother and Choji was home sick.

"Begin!"

Shikamaru immediately raises his hand,

"I forfeit."

(" _WHAT.")_

"Winner, Sakura Haruno." The proctor gestures for the two of them to return to the waiting area. "Next up is Sai of Konoha v. Gaara of Suna!"

xXx

 **A/N:**

 **Happy Holidays!  
** **Gimme my gift in the form of a comment, if you'd like!**


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